Monday, February 17, 2014

Sur La Place puts mouth-watering mussels on your plate in the Palisades (2-16-14)

I have written about our wonderful little neighborhood spot SUR LA PLACE (www.surlaplaceindc.com) before,
but have not been in ages. Last night we joined friends and took our
sons with us as they always love the place as well. It's a cozy spot
(although the drafts near the front can be an issue on a cold night when
the door opens) with quaint reddish Keith Haring-style wall drawings,
nice art and tin ceiling.

While Sur La Place specializes in
Belgian Beers and Mussels, the menu is varied and we've never had a bad
dish here. Will & Sam go there often when I'm away overnight, and
our server, Tula, recognized them as soon as we arrived. Later, she
remembered how much they loved the Brussels Sprouts which are superbly
seasoned with onions and bacon (and maybe beer?) and sent our a
complimentary side dish of them!

Will ordered his KWAK beer
which comes in an hourglass-shaped glass supported in a handled wooden
stand. It's quite a sight and highly carbonated and higher in alcohol
than most beers. I tasted it, and liked it a bit, but stuck to the
VIOGNIER Las Perdices 2012 from Mendoza in Argentina, which is a great
wine with most of the mussel dishes for sure. Our friend, Kevin, tried
the SAXO Blond Belgian beer which is $12.00 a bottle(WOW!) and I have to
say not at all to my liking.

The boys ordered STEAK FRITES
which Sam gobbled up faster than anyone else at the table could have
eaten! He said he liked the Black Peppercorn Sauce on the side much
better than the Béarnaise!

Starters included my always
favorite and delicious HEARTS of PALM SALAD with baby Spinach, White
& Green Asparagus, a thinly sliced Crispy Apple atop and a Citrus
Vinaigrette. It is most refreshing and definitely on anyone's diet.
AVOCADO COCKTAIL is more like a SEAFOOD Cocktail with avocado! It is
loads of Baby Shrimp with bits of Lobster in a huge wide brim glass with
Shallots, mixed green and a tasty Brandied Tomato Dressing, which is
like a light version of that thick red cocktail sauce used so often with
shrimp. Another dish that got high marks was the SMOKED SALMON WRAP
which is salmon itself as the wrap around Asparagus and Haricots Verts.
These are all pretty good lo-cal dishes as well if you need that! Kevin
also said that his starter (ordered as a main course) of the Grilled
DUCK PATE with Orange zest on wilted Spinach with a brandied Cherry
Sauce was delightful.

While there are many choices
for main courses, once comes here for the MUSSELS and we tried three
different ones, each with its own superb flavors:

BEBERT is mild with celery, onion, herbs, leeks beer and horseradish and smoked salmon for a punch of flavor and contrast.

If
you seek spice head for the RED DEVIL with celery, onions, herbs,
tomato, garlic, horseradish, harissa for that punch of spice and beer. I
loved my JAMAICAN ISLE which also has celery, onions and herbs but is
touched with a dash of Coconut Cream (there is no sweetness or thickness
to the dish, just flavor), as well as Curry & Beer. Of course the
kilo pots come with a healthy cone of frites which I prefer to dip in
the mussel pot sauce rather than the ketchup or mayo that comes as well.

Well
after a kilo of mussels, a steak or whatever, dessert is often too
much, so we all headed home very full and very happy. How great that
this is 3 minutes away!